Joseph Robert Mariotti

Joseph Robert Mariotti
September 13, 1931 - October 5, 2013
Resident of Pinole
Joseph "Dr Joe" Mariotti passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 5, 2013, surrounded by family at his bedside after a brief diagnosis of lung cancer. He was 82. As he wanted, his last days were spent at his home, the Fernandez Mansion, in his beloved town of Pinole. During his 44 years in this community, he touched many lives and inspired many people, evidenced by the outpouring of support for our family.
Our father was born in Pennsylvania where he went to school at Westminster College. After serving in the army from 1953 to 1955, he attended podiatry school in Cleveland then moved to San Francisco in 1959, where he met his love, Gretchen. They moved back to Pennsylvania where he attended Jefferson Medical College until 1964. Then, after completing his orthopedic residency in Miami Florida, Joseph moved his family to the small, rural town of Pinole and started his 35 year medical practice in San Pablo, at Brookside Medical Center.
He bought the old Fernandez mansion property at the bay front of Pinole as a commercial venture, but soon fell in love with the history of the house and town of Pinole. Through the years he restored the property and secured its stature on the National Registry of Historic Places. At various times he raised cattle, horses, chickens, peacocks, donkeys, pigs, goats and geese, some of which still roam the property.
Always a civic organizer, he, along with George Vincent, founded the Pinole Historical Society. A longtime environmentalist and conservationist, he served on the Save Contra Costa Shoreline Committee, Hercules Environmental Resources Committee, Urban Creek Council, East Bay Regional Parks Advisory Committee, Contra Costa County Plastic Recycling Advisory Committee, Coastal Clean-Up, West Contra Costa Environmental Education Committee, Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed, and the Contra Costa County Historical Landmarks Advisory Committee. Dr Joe also served his community on the Pinole City Council as well as the Pinole Planning Commission.
Soon after moving to Pinole, he volunteered as the team physician for Pinole Valley High School, and continued as the team doc for the next 32 years. His love for medicine was always evident whether it was in the office, in the operating room, on the football field or even overseas. He founded the Pinole-Sudan Relief Organization and visited Ethiopian refugee camps in 1985 and traveled to the country of Bhutan in 1993 where he worked as the only orthopedic surgeon for the remote Himalayan country for a month.
Although "Think Globally, Act Locally" was his mantra, he always had a love of travel. With his family, he traveled to well over 40 countries, many by bicycle, where he stood on the Great Wall of China, climbed to the great pyramids of Egypt, and sailed down the Nile and Amazon rivers. Back at home he founded the Pinole-Shaoxing (China) Friendship Committee and over the years, he and Gretchen housed over 12 foreign exchange students at their home in Pinole.
He was preceded by his parents, Guisseppe and Johanna Mariotti, as well as the love of his life, Gretchen Mariotti. He is survived by his children, Cari Galloway and Paul Mariotti of Pinole, Eric Mariotti of Martinez and Melinda Mariotti of London. His grandchildren include Rachel, Rebecca and Brett Galloway as well as Davis, Maxton and Aidan Mariotti. We fondly referred to him as Grampy (and often Grumpy). To the very end, body failing, he remained the same, making us smile with his sharp sense of humor. His unique character and generous spirit will be missed by all who knew him.
All are invited to his celebration of life on Saturday, November 2 at 1pm at his longtime home, the Fernandez Mansion, 100 Tennent Avenue, Pinole California. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Pinole Historical Society, P.O. Box 285, Pinole, CA 94564, or the Pinole Garden Club, P.O. Box 25, Pinole CA 94564.